<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Alan and the Generator by neuroticphysiologist</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25423351">Alan and the Generator</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/neuroticphysiologist/pseuds/neuroticphysiologist'>neuroticphysiologist</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Immediate Thunderbirds are Go Shorts [12]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Thunderbirds</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gen, Jamming Sessions, Musical Tracys AU, crazy inventions</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 05:27:22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,531</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25423351</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/neuroticphysiologist/pseuds/neuroticphysiologist</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Alan brings home a music genre generator he bought in the antique shop.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Immediate Thunderbirds are Go Shorts [12]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1726036</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Alan and the Generator</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Jamming session again!</p><p>I've been writing this since March and abandoned it for a long time while joining fic challenges. Well here it is, my second Musical Tracy AU fic!</p><p>Not technically an immediate short, but I'll just add it here.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Hey guys, check these out!" Gordon brought a few stuff from the antique store he and Alan have been to.</p><p>"You guys went to the antique shop again?" Scott folded his arms.</p><p>"His idea, not mine," Alan said. "But we did find some cool stuff!"</p><p>Virgil paused his piano playing and turned to see what the two of his brothers bought.</p><p>"Ta-da!" Gordon bought a pirate ship steering wheel, made with fine materials.</p><p>"Seriously, Gordon?" Virgil said. "What's that for?"</p><p>"It's for my collection. I've been looking for this in years."</p><p>"You know there are a lot of those in antique shops, right?"</p><p>"Not this kind. Can't believe my undersea collection is almost complete!"</p><p>"And this is the best one I bought," Alan showed it to his brothers.</p><p>"A guitar effect pedal?" Scott guessed.</p><p>"A battery powered music genre generator. It also has a sensor. I turn this on, place it to the nearest musical instrument, like Virgil's piano for example," Alan walked to the piano and changed the settings of the generator. "I changed the choice of instrument to piano, then I press this green button and the generator will start shuffling. And in under a minute, the generator will show the next genre."</p><p>"Does it determine if the tune is right?" Gordon asked.</p><p>"Yes, it can. This one's a genius, Gordo. If it thinks that the tune is right, the green light shows up and the next genre is shown. If the tune is wrong, the bulb will turn red and still, it will show another one."</p><p>"I'm still wondering if you two really bought useful items," Scott had a look at Gordon's wheel. "Because I'm not sure if these..."</p><p>"Oh come on, Scott," Gordon said. "I've always wanted to buy this pirate ship steering wheel."</p><p>"And I was interested with this cool invention," Alan added. "I tried it with a vintage guitar in the shop and it worked. By the way, the guitar I played there was cool. It was a Chet Atkins, Scott. You know how cool it sounds? Man, I wish I bought that one too."</p><p>"You know you already have a guitar, right?"</p><p>"Yeah. And that guitar's pretty big. So I only bought this generator. We can use it for jamming sessions."</p><p>"Looks like Virgil is using it now."</p><p>They heard Virgil play the piano, and after thirty seconds, the vibe changed from coffee table jazz to ragtime that can be heard from silent movies. Then in another thirty, Virgil switched to early blues. The three brothers smiled and they gathered round the piano.</p><p>"I knew this invention can be useful," Alan said. "You enjoying this, Virg?"</p><p>"Looks like this generator wanted me to prove that I can play anything," Virgil replied.</p><p>"You can turn off the generator if you like. Or press PASS if you want to skip the genre."</p><p>Virgil turned off the generator. "I'm just testing it out, Alan."</p><p>"Thanks, Virgil."</p><p>"Well, whoever made this invention, I bet he had crazy ideas."</p><p>"Alan, why don't you bring out your Kramer 84 to test this thing out?" Scott said.</p><p>"Sure thing!" Alan rushed to his room.</p><p>Gordon picked up the steering wheel he bought. Virgil was still on the piano stool, glancing at his big brother. "Hey, Scott..."</p><p>"Yeah?"</p><p>"Why don't you bring yours out too? I know you often play with Alan just to teach him a few techniques, but I really want to see you with your guitar."</p><p>"Oh yeah," Gordon agreed. "Bring yours out too, Scooter!"</p><p>But Scott refused. "Ah, don't convince me, Gords. Not this time."</p><p>"Come on!"</p><p>"What about you? You play too."</p><p>"But you play better! And plus, if Alan's gonna bring out his cool electric one, I'm gonna lose. I don't have one."</p><p>"Have you ever considered buying one?" Virgil just got up from the piano stool.</p><p>"I never thought of buying one for myself before. When I saw Alan playing that big guitar in the store, that's where I thought of getting my own."</p><p>"If you like blues, you can get a blues one," Scott suggested.</p><p>"I like something for beach vibes, bro."</p><p>Virgil sat on the couch. "Hey Gordo, you remember Scott's story about being the coolest guitar player in his small band in high school?"</p><p>"Wait, what?"</p><p>"That was only for a short stint, Virg," Scott explained. "I gave that up when I joined the football team. Also, our lead singer sucked and the band wanted me to sing so, that's another reason why I gave up."</p><p>"Man... Scott was in a band? That's something I don't know."</p><p>"I think I told you that story, Gordon," Virgil said.</p><p>"Bro, what I know is that Alan was in a band for a short time in his high school. It was only for a project, he told me," then he referred to Scott. "But still, I want to see you play, bro."</p><p>Scott sighed. "Fine, as you requested, Gordon."</p><p>He headed to his room and picked up a guitar case under his bed. It's his old 64 Fender Strat that he bought back in college. It was after he sold his black Explorer just to buy it. It may look a bit beaten up, with the tremolo a bit loose and the dusty strings and headstock, but the sound stays the same.</p><p>He picked up his amp and cable and headed back to the lounge. Alan has already set up his equipment. "Yay, finally! Scott's gonna play!"</p><p>While Scott was setting up his equipment, Alan changed the settings of the generator. Then they adjusted their tones to make their guitars sound the same. Alan agreed to the choice that they'll go for drop D, since it's Scott's standard tuning, and drop D sounds awesome.</p><p>"You first, Alan."</p><p>Each of them had different genres to play. A few were skipped because they wanted to. Alan has improved his skills. One of them is plucking since he's a sloppy player. Well, for quite a bit. Scott's a sloppy player too, but at times, he played well. Another one is that Alan knows how to play more than one genre with a single instrument. Challenge was accepted.</p><p>The guitar was the second instrument he learned, his first was the drums. He owns an electric drumset and he can plug his headphones to practice since it can bother everyone in the whole villa. He never tried to upgrade his room into a soundproof one for various reasons.</p><p>If the Tracy brothers were to be in a band, Alan would be the drummer, Scott and Gordon would be the guitar players, Gordon being the rhythm guy. Virgil, of course, would be the pianist, and John would probably be the bass player, or a woodwind player if they wanted to play the blues, and either Scott or Gordon would play the bass. If John doesn't want to play, then their roles would change. What's left is a singer. Well, all of them can sing, they can take turns, but it's up to them to decide who takes the spot if ever.</p><p>Okay, going back.</p><p>They went from blues to punk rock to grunge to hard rock to heavy metal. Scott showed off with a little bit of the tapping technique, something that Alan has to learn more about. They also played riffs from popular bands the generator suggested. Virgil and Gordon were enjoying the challenge they're watching, even MAX, who's still doing the chores, but stopped to join the fun. Scott and Alan have played five genres for each. Then later, the generator showed that the next is to play sleaze rock, and it was Alan's turn. He paused for a while, thinking of what to play. He started playing a small riff, then Scott takes the challenge.</p><p>"You're too young for sleaze, Alan."</p><p>He played a really good sleazy riff with some of the moves he showed. Gordon was completely surprised at the riff his brother just played. It's like something that can be played in the clubs.</p><p>Okay, Scott was great. Alan felt like he was about to give up the challenge. He turned off the generator.</p><p>"Alright, alright, you win, Scott. As always. So much for playing a sleazy riff."</p><p>"Aw don't worry about that, little bro. We're having fun."</p><p>"How did I do?"</p><p>"I'd say, you really improved your playing. You were awesome."</p><p>Alan smiled. "Gee, thanks. By the way, can you teach me how to do the tapping technique?"</p><p>"Of course I'll teach you. So, one more song?"</p><p>"FAB."</p><p>They played another song and the rest were having fun watching them play together. Even Gordon started to sing along. Minutes later, the rest of the family came to join in. The Tracy brothers took turns to play their instruments and the rest, they were just jamming along.</p><p>Alan felt satisfied about what he bought. Gordon was too, even though it was only for display and his brothers were scratching their heads, still not sure of the use. Well that's Gordon. He brought the wheel to his room and placed it near the treasure box.</p><p>He went back to the lounge to join in the jamming session.</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>